Remain faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life.REV 2:10

Sister DeSales McNamee, D.C.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister DeSales McNamee, D.C., was celebrated Dec. 5, 2015, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md. Burial followed at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Emmitsburg. Sister DeSales died Nov. 30, 2015, at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg. She was 86 years of age and 64 years vocation as a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

Born in Philadelphia, Penn., Aug. 12, 1929, Sister DeSales (baptized Anne McNamee) was the youngest of four children born to John and Mary (Issertell) McNamee. Sister graduated from West Philadelphia Catholic Girls’ High School in 1948 and entered the Daughters of Charity in December 1950.

Sister DeSales earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg in 1967. She earned her Master of Arts degree in Business Administration from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1979.

After initial formation, Sister DeSales served at St. John’s School in Baltimore, Md. (1952–1954); St. Charles School in Pikesville, Md. (1954–1957); St. Michael School in Overlea, Md. (1957–1966); St. Paul’s School in Portsmouth, Va. (1966–1968); Utica Catholic Academy in Utica, N.Y. (1968–1972); and St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington, Del., (1972–1987), where Sister served as the Local Community Superior from 1983 to 1987; DePaul Provincial House in Albany, N.Y., as Provincial Secretary (1987–1995); and in ministry at the Cathedral Parish of St. Peter in Wilmington (1995–2014). Sister DeSales entered the Ministry of Prayer at Villa St. Michael at the end of July 2014 and continued in this ministry until the time of her death.

Sister DeSales was preceded in death by her parents and three siblings: Virginia M. Van Belle, Mary Fogarty and Bernard McNamee. She is survived by nieces, nephews and her Sisters in Community.